A place and means for storing a plurality of balls for sports and playground should have a number of features. It should be locatable in a place that is accessible to a place of play. It should be capable of storing balls in an area that is accessible to where a team will practice.
It should be able to hold a number of balls, perhaps a dozen or so, that can accommodate a plurality of players, perhaps twenty or more for a team or class group. It should be designed to accommodate a rambunctious group of youngsters that are intent on getting out onto the area of play or not overly concentrated on collecting and storing the balls after play or the game period has ended.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,951 discloses a basketball storage system having a stanchion extending from a court floor, a backboard on the top end of the stanchion, a rim attached to the backboard, a net hanging down from the rim and a container for holding basketball. The container is attached to the stanchion so at least one basketball (30) is available for a basketball game.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,461 discloses a ball storage apparatus including a ball container defined by a wall and having an upper portion and a lower portion. The ball container has a mouth large enough for a ball to pass there through. The mouth is disposed toward the upper portion of the ball container. An opening, large enough for the ball, is disposed in the wall, toward the lower portion of the ball container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,772 discloses a collapsible structure that can be easily and quickly folded into a compact configuration. The collapsible structures have at least three foldable frame members, each having a folded and an unfolded orientation. A fabric material covers each frame member to form a panel for each frame member when the frame member is in the unfolded orientation, with the fabric assuming the unfolded orientation of its associated frame member.
None of these systems provide a system of ball storage that provides the ease of accessibility for the number of balls, contemplated for the present invention.